'Cats' ★★★

'Cats' ★★★

You might not be able to swing a cat inside the No Exit Cafe, but that hasn't stopped the remarkably talented director-choreographer Brenda Didier from filling the joint with Andrew Lloyd Webber's singing-dancing felines, all close enough that you could easily reach out and touch their whiskers. Inventive and infectious, Didier's Chicago-style "Cats" features make-up and costumes (from Izuma Inaba and Matt Guthier) that go far, far beyond the usual, and that combine with frequently excellent singing from a young cast to make this intimate, family-friendly show much more rewarding than the plethora of crummy tours that used to sing for their supper in Chicago. Through Feb. 20 by Theo Ubique in the No Exit Café, 6970 N. Glenwood Ave.; $30-$35 at 773-347-1109 or theoubique.org

You might not be able to swing a cat inside the No Exit Cafe, but that hasn't stopped the remarkably talented director-choreographer Brenda Didier from filling the joint with Andrew Lloyd Webber's singing-dancing felines, all close enough that you could easily reach out and touch their whiskers. Inventive and infectious, Didier's Chicago-style "Cats" features make-up and costumes (from Izuma Inaba and Matt Guthier) that go far, far beyond the usual, and that combine with frequently excellent singing from a young cast to make this intimate, family-friendly show much more rewarding than the plethora of crummy tours that used to sing for their supper in Chicago. Through Feb. 20 by Theo Ubique in the No Exit Café, 6970 N. Glenwood Ave.; $30-$35 at 773-347-1109 or theoubique.org

You might not be able to swing a cat inside the No Exit Cafe, but that hasn't stopped the remarkably talented director-choreographer Brenda Didier from filling the joint with Andrew Lloyd Webber's singing-dancing felines, all close enough that you could easily reach out and touch their whiskers. Inventive and infectious, Didier's Chicago-style "Cats" features make-up and costumes (from Izuma Inaba and Matt Guthier) that go far, far beyond the usual, and that combine with frequently excellent singing from a young cast to make this intimate, family-friendly show much more rewarding than the plethora of crummy tours that used to sing for their supper in Chicago. Through Feb. 20 by Theo Ubique in the No Exit Café, 6970 N. Glenwood Ave.; $30-$35 at 773-347-1109 or theoubique.org